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MONASH ASIA INSTITUTE BULLETIN 10/2007
3 October 2007
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In this bulletin
1. How Bollywood made India global: Public lecture by Professor Lord Meghnad Desai
2. Seminar: Writing Singapore
3. Seminar: Chinese Representation Issues at the United Nations before 1971
4. Seminar: "Bangladeshi" domestic workers in Delhi
5. Special Bollywood Women's workshop with Lady Kishwar Desai
6. CSEAS Seminar: The 2007 Malaysian budget
7. Seminar: Chinese Students in Japan
8. Seminar: Taiwan - New perspectives and viewpoints
9. CSEAS Seminar: Biography of Herb Feith
10. Seminar: Judicial activism on environment protection, India & Australia
11. Conference: Civil & military relationships in the Asia-Pacific
12. Seminar: Discourses of corruption
13. Seminar: Gold in Kerala
14. 5th Herb Feith Memorial Lecture
15. Seminar: Mahathir Mohamad: Islam and the 'New Malaysí
16. Exhibition: 'Krishna - love and devotion'
17. Seminar: Israelís dilemma in Palestine
18. Lecture: Globalisation, Crises and Growth
19. Symposium: Care & conservation of Middle Eastern manuscripts
20. Conference: Ecology and Community Development
21. Website of the month: Women in security conflict management and peace
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Monash Asia Institute and Monash University News and Events
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Item 1. Public lecture by Professor Lord Meghnad Desai
Hosted by National Gallery of Victoria and Monash Asia Institute (Monash University)
Saturday 6 October 2007, 2:00 to 4:00 pm
Clemenger BBDO Auditorium, National Gallery of Victoria, 180 St Kilda Road Melbourne 3004
"The business of culture: How Bollywood made India global"
Professor Lord Meghnad Desai, Member of the House of Lords
Lady Kishwar Desai, Author
India is the new global economy of the 21st century. Indian films under the label Bollywood have been global for much longer and have been in the vanguard recently in Indiaís emergence as a ranking economic power during the last ten years. The growth of Bollywood has lessons for understanding why India has taken so long to attain its global status and how it can stay there.
Lady Kishwar Desai will reflect on Lord Desaiís lecture and comment on the role of women in the historical evolution of Bollywood.
Professor Lord Meghnad Desai of St Clement Danes taught at the London School of Economics from 1965 till 2003 where he was successively Lecturer, Reader and Professor. He has written more than twenty books and 200 articles in journals and magazines. His recent books are ìNehruís Hero: Dilip Kumar in the life of Indiaî; ìThe route to all evil: The political economy of Ezra Poundî and ìRethinking Islamism: The ideology of new terrorî. He has been a member of the House of Lords since 1991 and received an Honorary Doctorate from Monash University in 2004.
The lecture will be followed by Q&A and afternoon tea.
To download flyer take your web browser to http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/mai/news-and-events/seminars/index.php#bollywood
Cost $25 / $20 NGV Member & Concession (includes afternoon tea)
Event code P07201
Enquiries: NGV Tel: +61 3 8620 2222 or
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Item 2. Centre of Southeast Asian Studies (Monash Asia Institute)
4 October 2007, 11.00 am
SG02 (Manton Rooms), Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton campus
Dr Yao Souchou
Department of Anthropology, University of Sydney
"Writing Singapore: Perils and lessons"
ALL WELCOME
Enquiries: Dr Trudy Jacobsen,
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Item 3. Taiwan Studies Seminar
Monday, 8 October 2007, 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Room E361, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton campus
Hosted by the Chinese Program of the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University
The Taiwan Studies Seminar series continues with this seminar by Professor Chen Wen-hsien.
"Archives and 'Chinese Representation Issues' at the United Nations before 1971: Its implications for Taiwan"
Speaker: Professor Chen Wen-hsien, Graduate Research Institute of Taiwan History, National Chengchi University, Taipei
ALL WELCOME
Enquiries: Professor Bruce Jacobs,
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Item 4. MAI Reports from Asia seminar
Tuesday 9 October 2007, 1:00 pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton campus
"Securitization of migration: the "Bangladeshi" domestic workers in Delhi"
Speaker: Professor Tasneem Siddiqui
In this seminar, Professor Siddiqui will focus on the contentious issue of alleged Bangladeshi illegal migrant workers in India from a security angle.
Professor Siddiqui is a well-known academic and researcher in Bangladesh. She is Professor of the Department of Political Science in Dhaka University, Chair of the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) in Dhaka University as well as Chair of the South Asia Migration Resource Network (SAMREN) that works across the South Asian region. She has written and researched extensively on labour migration issues in the region. She has researched female migration, migrant workers' remittances and micro-finance, and labour recruitment process and diaspora. She has recently edited the Migration and Development: Pro-Poor Policy Choices book based on migration experiences in China, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Vietnam.
RSVP with subject heading "Bangladeshi domestic workers in Delhi" to Dr Tony Donaldson,
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Item 5. A special workshop on Bollywood women with Lady Kishwar Desai
Wednesday 10 October 2007, 1.00pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton campus
Lady Kishwar Desai started her career as a print journalist and then moved into Television at the moment when Indian Television was going through its boom. She has worked in all the major TV channels in Delhi: NDTV, Aaj Tak, Zee as Anchor, producer of TV films and CEO of a Punjabi language channel. She moved into publishing, working with Roli Books as Managing Editor before moving to London. She is now a writer and has just published her first book ìPia: A True Love Story from Bollywoodî. It is a joint biography of the iconic star couple, Nargis and Sunil Dutt, written against the background of the history of 20th century India. She has also written a screenplay for a film based on the life of the Muslim princess and secret agent, Noor Inayat Khan, who spied for the British during the Second World War. The film will be directed by the renowned Indian Film Director Shyam Benegal.
RSVP with subject heading "Bollywood women workshop" to Dr Tony Donaldson,
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Item 6. Joint Centre for Malaysian Studies / Centre of Southeast Asian Studies Seminar
Thursday 11 October 2007, 11.00am
SG02 (Manton Rooms), Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton campus
Professor James Chin
Swinburne University of Technology (Malaysia Campus)
"The 2007 Malaysian budget: 'Buying' a general election?"
Many Malaysians are calling the recently announced budget an 'election budget'. The government slashed corporate tax and announced multi-billion ringgit projects in the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) and the Iskandar Economic Region (IER) which will guarantee money flowing into the economy ahead of a general election, which is due in the next 12 months. Taxes on tobacco and alcohol (sin tax), widely expected to rise, were left untouched. Yet there are signs that huge public spending may not work. The speaker will give his views on the coming elections and assess the likely performance of the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) and the main opposition parties.
Professor James Chin is Head of the School of Business, Swinburne University of Technology (Malaysia Campus). He has published extensively on Malaysia, and his most recent publication is an edited volume, Reminiscences: Recollections of Sarawak Ministrative Officers (Pelanduk Publications, 2007)
ALL WELCOME
Enquiries: Dr Wendy A. Smith, Director, Centre for Malaysian Studies, Monash Asia Institute, Email:
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Item 7. Seminar
Thursday, 11 October 2007 at 2:00pm
L3 (Building 12 - Faculty of Law), Clayton campus
Professor David Zweig
Chair Professor and Director, Center on China's Transnational Relations
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
will speak on
"Sending Chinese Students to Japan: A win-win outcome"
Professor Zweig, an international authority on China, has published
widely. The seminar will explore areas of China's most difficult
foreign relationship.
Professor Zweig has also been researching China's energy competition
with Western nations and would also entertain questions on this topic.
For further information please contact
Professor J. Bruce Jacobs,
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Item 8. Taiwan Studies Seminar
Wednesday, 17 October 2007, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Room W215, Building 11 (Menzies), Monash University Clayton campus
Hosted by the Chinese Program of the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, Monash University
This seminar in the Taiwan Seminar Series will be with Professor J. Bruce Jacobs of Monash University. Professor Jacobs is Professor of Asian Languages and Studies and an internationally recognized expert on Taiwan.
ìTaiwan: New Perspectives and Viewpointsî
All Welcome
Enquiries: Professor Bruce Jacobs,
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Item 9. Seminar
Centre of Southeast Asian Studies (Monash Asia Institute)
18 October 2007, 11.00 am
SG02 (Manton Rooms), Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton campus
Dr Jemma Purdey
School of Political and Social Inquiry, Monash University
"Many voices, one life: Dealing with memory and 'telling' in the biography of Herb Feith"
ALL WELCOME
Enquiries: Dr Trudy Jacobsen,
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Item 10. MAI Reports from Asia seminar
Wednesday 24 October 2007, 1.00pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11) Monash University Clayton campus
Dr. Sailaja Gullapalli, Endeavour Research Fellow, Monash Asia Institute
"Judicial activism and implications on environmental protection: A comparative assessment of environmental concerns of India and Australia"
This comparative study intends to focus on the measures taken towards environmental protection and management in India and Australia. Environmental law is often prone to violations by the state, thus making compliance a much more difficult task. In this context, the judiciary has an important role to play as a conscience keeper and should impose positive obligations on the state in order to confine it to environmental norms. The policy and implementation approaches of India and Australia towards environmental protection and the active role of the judiciary in safeguarding the interests of society will be the main theme of the proposed study. Many parallels can be drawn from the experiences of these two nations since they provide an account of not only common problems but also remedial measures to combat them. The role of the judiciary in interpreting the existing laws that safeguard the natural environment forms an important component of the project. There are four areas of common concerns that are of interest to the proposed study. These issues are of considerable interest in both India and Australia and are being taken up by environmental activists, who are effectively articulating their concerns. They include (1) endangered species (2) energy conservation (3) genetically modified foods and (4) water. An insight into the policy formulation and lessons to be learnt thereof also constitutes a significant part of this proposed study.
RSVP with subject heading "India and Australia environment seminar" to Dr Tony Donaldson,
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Item 11. Call for Papers
Friday 9 November 2007, 9.30am - 5.30 pm
Venue: Melbourne CBD (TBA)
Important deadlines
Submission of abstracts: 10 October 2007
Registration: 25 October 2007
"International Conference on Civil & Military Relationships: Implications for the Health, Mobility and Wellbeing of Civilian Populations in the Asia-Pacific"
Conference sponsored by the Australian Research Council and Monash Asia Institute
This conference brings together eminent academics, researchers and practitioners from the region focusing on the complex issue of civil and military relationships in the contemporary era. The conference is particularly targeted towards postgraduate students and early-career researchers investigating the implications of the intricate interplay between the military and civil society. The conference investigates trends in the evolving relationship between the military and civil society by welcoming experts and postgraduates from the region, including Australia, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. What are the overall implications of military involvement in the civilian affairs of the state? How has the role of the military impacted on political and social development? What are the direct and indirect effects on the emotional and physical wellbeing of the population? What are the outcomes in relation to social mobility and economic emancipation? What are the consequences on the development of civil society? These critical issues affect the welfare of the people and stability of the state, which helps reduce tension and conflict across the region.
For further details go to the conference website:
http://www.monash.edu.au/mai/news-and-events/cmrelationships.php
Some assistance towards travel costs is available.
Abstracts (word length 500 words or less) should be submitted electronically to Dr. Tony Donaldson (). All emails should have the subject heading "Abstract for Civil-Military Conference". Please include the following within the body of the email: Title, Author(s), Affiliation and Text.
All enquiries to Dr. Tony Donaldson, , with the subject heading "Conference on Civil and Military Relationships"
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Item 12. MAI Reports from Asia seminar (Double seminar ñ see also Item 13)
Wednesday 14 November 2007, 1.00pm
Room S822, Level 8 South, Menzies Building (11)
Monash University Clayton campus
"Everyday practices of local government offices and the discourses of corruption"
Speaker: Mr. Nadeem Malik, University of Melbourne
For the past few years public sector corruption in less developed countries has been identified by the World Bank, IMF, NGOs, donor countries, as well as academics as a major stumbling block towards these countriesí progress. The social planners and the policy analysts have frequently maintained that the problems of corruption can be solved through the application of instrumental solutions that are applicable universally.
On the other hand, some anthropologists of the state such as Akhil Gupta and others have suggested that corruption is a discursive field imagined differently by people belonging to different societies. Solutions to corruption, therefore, are not universally applicable. This paper attempts to argue that corruption is not merely a discursive field and an imagined phenomenon but has its roots outside peopleís minds as well. Through an ethnographic exploration of the functioning of certain lower level officials in rural Pakistan, it is argued that the objectivity of the discourse of corruption outside peopleís minds can be explained in a radically different manner; that is by analysing the specific way in which the local level bureaucracy is structured in a strategic interface between the people and the central state institutions.
RSVP to Dr Tony Donaldson, , using the subject line "Corruption seminar" in your email.
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Item 13. MAI Reports from Asia seminar
Wednesday 14 November 2007, 3.00pm